Dear Editor,

John Cameron indicated he suspects people are frequently pressured into signing petitions, and do not get both sides of the story [Boycott shows greater arrogance, Dec. 12 Letters, Langley Advance].

He also says we had months to gather signatures to oppose the Coulter Berry proposal, and got significantly less than half of the residents of Fort Langley to sign.

Volunteers delivered the petitions to each household in Fort Langley seven days before the public hearing. There was no time to discuss the pros or cons. We just dropped off the petition on each front doorstep. In the rain.

Enclosed was a flyer with information extracted directly from the application itself, as well as the Township website address where the proposal was posted in full. The flyer was double checked by independent sources for accuracy.

Each person who signed the petition made the effort of delivering it back to us. There was no further contact after delivery of the petition. There was no pressure to sign.

I would give the residents of Fort Langley more credit. They are intelligent people who investigated the facts and chose to say no to this proposal, based on all the information provided from many sources. The petition was a welcomed vessel to voice their opinion.

There are approximately 2,500 Fort Langley residents. To see more than 25 per cent (665) signatures in seven days was amazing. With more time and follow-up, I am sure we would have seen more than 50 per cent. I received many calls after the public hearing, asking if they could still deliver their signed petition.

To say there is public support for this project would be an understatement.

I have been buying my turkeys from JD Farms since the early 90s. I will be buying one this Christmas and enjoying it thoroughly.

I live in Fort Langley and have not seen a flyer urging people to boycott JD Farms. For me, this has always been about the proposal itself, and never about the people supporting it, including the mayor and council.

Andy Schildhorn, Fort Langley